Iga Swiatek avoided an early upset in her third-round match at the Australian Open.
The Pole, in pursuit of a Career Grand Slam at Melbourne Park, was forced to a decisive third set against 31st seed Anna Kalinskaya on Margaret Court Arena.
Swiatek came through the tough test, however, emerging victorious 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 to advance to round four, where she will take on Australian qualifier Maddison Inglis.
She was set to face Naomi Osaka next, but the Japanese star withdrew from the tournament, citing a left abdominal injury.
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In her next match, Swiatek will be up against it, with home hope Inglis likely to have the Australian crowd on her side.
Iga Swiatek discusses crowd behaviour on the WTA Tour
Swiatek was asked how much she is aware of the crowd during her matches on the WTA Tour, and if they actually help her play better.
The six-time major champion responded: “It depends how they cheer, because if it’s, like, overall cheering and clapping, yeah, it’s always nice, because you can get a lot of energy.
“But if you get, like, coaching, which sometimes happens, or, like, you know, Play another ace or something, then it can be, like, weird or your focus can be ruined because of that.
“I guess it depends how they cheer and also in what place I am, because I can really take a lot of positives from that, but there are days where it can also be annoying. I’m sorry for saying that, but I think every player have that.
“Tennis is a game where it’s, like, a lot of noise between the points, but then it’s silent during the points. Suddenly, if you hear something, it can really, like, trigger you.
“It depends on the cheering. It depends on the day, also, how I feel. But, overall, I really appreciate the support, and Polish fans are great.
“It’s great that, honestly, in every place in the world they are there, and even when I play against someone from, like, the country we are playing a tournament at, I feel like it’s always kind of even in terms of the cheers and everything. We’ll see how it’s going to be in the next match.”
Iga Swiatek’s Australian Open campaign so far
Swiatek has dropped just one set so far at this year’s Australian Open, but the 24-year-old has been tested.
In her opening match against Yue Yuan, Swiatek trailed in the first set, with the Chinese star on the verge of drawing first blood.
Who stops Iga Swiatek from completing the Career Grand Slam in Australia?
She came back, however, triumphing in a first-set tiebreak and winning the match in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3.
Round two marked a much more comfortable performance for Swiatek, who beat Marie Bouzkova 6-2, 6-3.
The difficult test against Kalinskaya will not be Swiatek’s last of the tournament, as she is on a collision course with the likes of Elena Rybakina, Amanda Anisimova, and defending champion Madison Keys.
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